Biocatalyst Platform Technology for Enhancing Cometabolic Biodegradation

描述（由申请人提供）：数百种不同的有害污染物污染了宝贵的供水和资源。这些污染物中的许多是难降解的（抗降解的），并且它们从水中安全有效地去除可能成本过高。例如，三氯乙烯和氯仿等氯化溶剂可能是人类致癌物，在不同种类和水平的接触下会对健康产生无数影响。美国环境保护署（EPA）已确定饮用水中三氯乙烯的最大污染物水平（MCL）为5（ug/L）。另一种致癌化合物N-亚硝基二甲胺（NDMA）也是一种可能的致癌物，在许多州的最高通知水平为10纳克/升。总的来说，水中的难降解有机污染物影响了美国数十万个地点，严重干扰了公共和私人的水处理工作。与物理和化学技术相比，生物处理提供了将这些化合物降解为无害产品的低能耗，可靠和生态友好的潜力。即便如此，应用生物技术和通过彗星诱导生物降解难降解有机物的现有方法仍存在许多缺点，导致性能不可靠和成本高。第一阶段的可行性旨在通过利用材料科学，应用微生物学和环境工程的多学科方法来弥补现有生物处理技术的许多缺点。该项目将开发、建设、测试和优化生物催化剂平台技术，该技术可以安全地巩固对水质困难情况的处理 有效地保护公众健康，促进环境可持续性。这项工作的主要成果将是一种新的高性能生物催化过程的概念验证，用于水中主要污染物的共代谢处理。这种方法的价值主张包括强化的、有针对性的性能，同时限制浪费并降低资本和运营费用。与现有方法相比，该项目的成功成果有可能成为水管理人员和供应商的商业技术选择，从而能够对供水进行具有成本效益的补救，并为子孙后代的公共和私人环境管理提供重要价值。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Hundreds of different harmful pollutants have contaminated valuable water supplies and resources. Many of these contaminants are recalcitrant (resistant to degradation), and their safe and effective removal from water can be cost prohibitive. For example, chlorinated solvents like trichloroethylene and chloroform are likely human carcinogens with myriad health effects at varying kinds and levels of exposure. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established a maximum contaminant level (MCL) for TCE in drinking water of 5 (ug/L). Another recalcitrant compound N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) is also a probable carcinogen with maximum notification levels of 10 ng/L in many states. Collectively, recalcitrant organic pollutants in water affect hundreds of thousands of sites in the United States and severely confound public and private water treatment efforts. Compared with physical and chemical technologies, biological treatment offers the potential for low-energy, reliable, and eco-friendly degradation of these compounds into innocuous products. Even so, existing methods in applying biological technologies and inducing biodegradation of recalcitrant organics via cometabolism suffer from a number of drawbacks that lead to unreliable performance and high costs. This Phase I feasibility seeks to remedy many of the disadvantages with existing biological treatment technologies through a multidisciplinary approach drawing on materials science, applied microbiology, and environmental engineering. The project will develop, construct, test, and optimize a biocatalyst platform technology that can consolidate the treatment of difficult water quality situations safely and effectively, thereby protecting public health and promoting environmental sustainability. The major outcome of this work will be a proof-of-concept of a novel high performance biocatalytic process for the cometabolic treatment of major contaminants in water. The value proposition of this method includes intensified, targeted performance while limiting waste and reducing capital and operating expenses. Compared with existing methods, the successful outcome of this project has the potential to be a commercial technology-of-choice for water managers and providers, allowing the cost-effective remediation of water supplies and securing significant value for public and private environmental stewardship for future generations.